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questions about starting raw/natural diet

Discussion in 'BARF, Raw & Natural Diets' started by Samantha, Jul 7, 2010.

  1. mbfrench

    mbfrench Forums Celebrity

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    Aug 2, 2009
    South Carolina
    A few questions~

    With the opening of the resturant,on Thurs,Fri,Sat as being a steak & seafood resturant,I have accesss to raw fish.We have alaskan whitefish,flounder,tilapia,spots,catfish.A couple of these are shipped whole,without heads.The others are shipped frozen filets.

    Which or any or all would be ok.How much,how often etc is fish fed on a raw or even as an occasional meal? I also have access to rib eyes.

    Yesterday,they cut many rib steaks,and had alot of trim left,that went to the garbage.Is any of this trim useful to grind and mix with something.And possibly put in a kong to feed?

    I am thinking seriously to feeding raw on occasion,who knows I could possibly feed it permanent.

    I am going to go back in this thread,and start reading,plus the other postings and look at the links provided.

    How many times a day are the dogs fed if on a permanent raw diet,is it still 1 or 2x a day.
     
  2. Toffee's Mom

    Toffee's Mom Forums Sage

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    oh the over thinking :)
    That is an awesome opportunity Michelle!!!

    I feed once a day, I do NOT grind anything... I cut the fish fillets in smaller pieces, otherwise he doesn't eat it :eek:

    I portion into freezer bags, when I got an order, take out the night before to let it unfreeze, empty into his bowl the next day and voila...
     
  3. Samantha

    Samantha Forums Enthusiast

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    Lots of good info so far, I saw in one of the earlier threads that you should feed 2-3% of optimum adult weight so it would probably be help full to get a kitchen scale, and it's a good excuse to get one!
    I think it seems reasonable to feed all the fish, that's how people eat sardines after all.
    I think I'm going to start her on one raw fish or chicken meal a week and see how she likes it!
     
  4. Justicemom

    Justicemom Forums Celebrity

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    Whole fish is fine, head and all. Ember hates fish. So I just supplement fish oils instead of feeding fish. Now that my dogs are use to raw-I feed beef, pork, pheasent, deer, elk, chicken, turkey, and some bison. There isn't a part of turkey, pheasent or chicken I won't feed. Beef trim is all good. Only thing to stay away from is sawed bones like what is on a T-bone and the bones from the legs of large ungulates like cows, elk and deer. The bones are very tough and can break teeth thus being known as Wreck bones. I really don't feed any beef, bison, deer or elk bones except shoudler blade and ribs. Same with pork. Everything else is fair game. You just want to make sure your feeding atleast 80% meat 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other organ over time.

    Also you want to watch the sodium content of any packaged meat you get. A lot of the meat is enhanced that is a solution is added to give it a better taste to salt addicted humans. Make sure it doesn't have any solutions added. Sodium content should be below 80mg -100mg. Other than that fed a percent of body 2-3% to start. I started with 2 meals a day just to help with stools. Now I fed 1 or 2 times daily depending on what I'm feeding. I don't have a set feeding time so I don't have problems with stomach upset. I know some people with very set feeding times and if they are late their dogs get upset stomachs. I started with a scale so I could get an idea of portion size now I just feed and adjust based on body weight. Too skinny increase food too fluffy decrease food. I think Justice is eating about 3% Ember about 2% and Diva about 4%(she is high a energy girl)

    Here is another good guide.http://www.snovali.com/other/rawfoodprimer.pdf
     
  5. romeosangiovese

    romeosangiovese Forums Enthusiast

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    Ooh! If the trim isn't fat, you can grind them up with some meat and stuff kongs and freeze. Or you can grill them and use as treats. I am always asking for trims! I once went to a really posh butcher and asked where the trimmings would go from a nice slab of organic grassfed beef, and when they handed it to me (nicely wrapped) for free I got the dirtiest look!! :lol: There is a butcher here who takes all the trimmings and spare meats and grinds them and sells them for cheap specifically for dogs. Magic Dust I think he calls them. I use this to make treats.

    You can feed once or twice a day. Depends on the dog and what it is used to and what it's stomach can take. Romeo used to eat once a day but because of his gurgly stomach I feed twice a day now. Juliet eats twice a day too.
     
  6. LizT

    LizT Forums Regular

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    Jan 19, 2011
    Bonney Lake, Washington
    Raw

    Hi, I have two shelties 3 years and 7 months. The youngest was supposedly a sensitive system sheltie on crazy expensive food. We switched her to raw and she does great. She has even been stealing the collies food and has eaten fish, beef, pork, lamb, tripe and duck. She should only be on chicken but she has had no problem and her coat is becoming incredibly plush especially for her age.
     

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